April 20, 2004

Main Page • John's Journal (2000-2003) • CLL Information • Contact John • Seattle Cancer Care Alliance • MD Anderson

I only had a couple appointments today so I had to take a quick side trip to REI, Seattle's coolest outdoor store. From the photograph above, you can see that I took time to stop and smell the flowers.

I started my SCCA appointments with a visit to the psychiatrist. Purpose of this appointment was to evaluate how I am holding up emotionally. As you might imagine, there is a lot of anxiety associated with a procedure of this magnitude. The transplant team wants to stay on top of my mental health as well as my physical health. I have my moments, but I feel I am holding up pretty well. I attribute much of the peace I have to all the prayer support I am receiving. It makes a difference.

The second appointment was a simple blood draw to do some additional typing and to check my counts. The results of all the testing they have been doing in the past week and a half will be shared with us on Monday during a conference called a (data review). This appointment will be one of the final steps in determining my suitability for transplant.



A special thank you to my friends David and Karen who came up to give me some tips and tricks to help make the transplant experience easier. Karen is a leukemia survivor herself who is recovering wonderfully from a recent transplant. She will celebrate her one year transplant anniversary this July. Her husband, David, graduated from high school with me. We talked about everything from not touching the floor buttons in an elevator to the fastest route from my apartment to the SCCA. They stayed in the same apartment I will be staying in. So they know the area well. You may wonder why I don't have a picture of David? Well, he was stuck in the elevator. After twenty minutes of waiting I had to go to my appointment. I sure hope he's out by now. Poor Dave.

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